STRAYS
by xXAngelOfTheOceanXx
Summary: Aiden has taken in another stray. Luna is a shy-yet-graceful 18-year-old werewolf with a natural talent for shifting easily into her wolf. But will Josh be jealous of her, or will she teach him the meaning of true love? Sorry Nora you don't get to be in this one!


Note: I don't own anything other than my own characters... On with the story! :)

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><p><em><strong>Chapter One-<strong>_

Aiden shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his thick jacket as he strolled down the dark, snowy streets of Boston. The night was young, and he was wandering aimlessly, his mind drifting with the nipping winter wind. His steps carried him into the dark alley where he had found Josh those many years ago, but instead of an empty, snow-dusted lane he saw a group of thugs surrounding the prone, helpless form of a young blond-haired girl. Deja-vu hit Aiden hard in his gut, but instinctively he knew that these men weren't vampires. The girl, on the other hand, reeked of werewolf. The older man leapt into action immediately.

With an animalistic snarl Aiden grabbed one man by the collar of his jacket and tossed him unceremoniously into the snow. The young brunette spluttered indignantly and scrambled to his feet, squaring off against the taller man, but as the human's beady brown eyes met the ebon gaze of the vampire his breath caught in his throat. After a few gasping whimpers, he turned tail and ran.

Aiden then turned to the remaining few men, and it took only seconds before they fled after their comerade.

"Are you okay?" the dark-haired immortal inquired as he knelt down beside the young girl. Her shoulder-length blond hair was matted and tangled with dirt and snow, and her tattered clothes did nothing to protect her from the bone chilling cold. But still she curled into a defensive position against the bricks of the building behind her and glared balefully at the stranger before her.

"Who are you?" she demanded, her baby blue eyes glinting like chips of ice. "You don't smell right. Not like those other people."

"I'm someone like you," he replied. "My name is Aiden, and I can take you somewhere safe."

The girl was silent, still pressed against the wall at her back, but as a chilling wind tore through the alleyway and caused her dirty hair to whip around her emaciated face, she finally gave in and let the pale stranger lift her into his arms, bridal style, and take her home.

"Josh!" Aiden called loudly as he slammed the front door of their house shut with his foot, cutting off a numbing blast of cold air. Seconds later a slender brunette man came rushing down the stairs, his gaze wide and alert for any sign of danger.

"What happened?" Josh demanded as he stared at his best friend with wide chocolate-colored eyes. "Who's this?"

"My name's Luna," the teen said before Aiden could speak.

"Some thugs were hurting her," the vampire continued. "We need to get her warmed up."

Immediately the older werewolf nodded and extended his arms to take the blond and cradled her close to his chest. Then he headed back upstairs into the master bathroom as Aiden went into the kitchen to make her something to eat.

"Are you hurt at all?" Josh inquired as he set Luna down on the edge of the toilet.

"I... I don't think so," she answered with a small shake of her head. Shudders wracked her slender body and he rose to turn on the hot water in the shower, then turned to grasp the hem of her shirt.

"What're you doing?" she exclaimed in horror, clamping her arms over her stomach.

"Don't worry," he replied soothingly. "I'm a nurse at the hospital. You don't have anything I haven't already seen."

The girl heasitated for a second, but finally gave in and relaxed her grip so he could haul her ragged t-shirt over her head, her face flushing beet red. After a little more coaxing he also stripped off her worn blue jeans and holey Converse shoes. Then he examined every inch of exposed skin, but luckily found only a few shallow bruises.

"The towels are here under the sink," he told her before standing up, his knees popping loudly. "So just let me know when you're done and I'll give you something to change into okay?"

Luna nodded and watched him slip through the bathroom door, clicking it shut behind him. Then the blond turned and pulled off the rest of her underclothes before stepping into the warm, soothing shower and washing away days of dirt, snow, and tears. She scrubbed her scalp with shampoo until it burned and washed her pale skin until it was raw. Then after letting the water beat on her aching muscles for a while she turned the faucet off and stepped out to dry herself off with a threadbare red towel.

"I'm done," she said as she cracked the bathroom door open, after she'd wrapped the towel tightly around herself. Josh appeared with a friendly smile and a pile of clothes tucked under his arm.

"Aiden has dinner waiting for you downstairs when you're dressed," he told her, handing her the clothes. The teen thanked him before closing the door once more and pulling on the dark blue jeans and black long-sleeved shirt. Then she hung her towel on the doorknob and ran her fingers through her damp hair as she headed down the stairs with her stomach grumbling loudly.

"Feelin' better?" the dark-haired vampire inquired as she poked her head around the corner of the small kitchen. She nodded wordlessly and approached the table slowly, as if waiting for him to take away the grilled cheese he'd made for her.

"He won't bite you know," a woman suddenly said behind her. With a startled squeak the blond whirled around to see a pretty lady with curly black hair watching her with an amused smile. "Not hard anyways," she added.

"Sally, be nice," Josh chided as he strode into the kitchen, and Luna gasped as he walked right _through_ the slender woman.

"Y-you're a ghost," she gasped, backing up until her hip bumped the table. She grasped the edge with white-knuckled fingers.

"Oh sweetheart I'm so sorry," Sally apologized quickly. "I didn't mean to frighten you! I promise I won't hurt you okay?"

After a moment the teen nodded and heasitantly appraoched the older woman, her hand extended to pass her fingers through her arm. She pulled away with a small shudder.

"Sally's a friend of ours," Aiden explained as Luna studied the dark-skinned woman with interest kindling in her baby blue eyes. "This is actually her house."

"What happened?" the little werewolf inquired gently. "I-if it's okay," she added quickly.

"My ex-husband killed me," Sally replied with a nonchalant shrug.

"That's horrible," the teen murmured.

"Don't you worry about it," the ghost said before gesturing towards the sandwich still sitting on the table. "You just eat and make yourself at home."

"But why are you guys helping me like this?" she asked, turning her haunted gaze on the two men. Memories of pain and abuse rushed through her mind and she curled her arms around her midrif.

"Aiden saved me the same way a long time ago," Josh explained as he placed his hand on her shoulder and steered her towards a chair.

"You're a werewolf too, aren't you?" Luna stated as she sat. "I can smell it."

"I am," the brunette replied. "So don't worry about feeling out-of-place or anything. We're all weirdos in this house." As he finished speaking he chuckled, and Aiden rolled his eyes good-naturedly before heading into the living room. Seconds later the TV clicked on. Then Sally diappeared to go do whatever it was that she did by herself and the older werewolf lowered himself into the chair next to the teen's. For a few minutes he sat in silence, watching her scarf down the sandwich and down a glass of coke in just a few gulps.

"When was the last time you actually ate something?" the older wolf inquired as the younger wiped a few stray crumbs from her lips.

"About five days ago, I think," she answered, looking up to meet his chocolate-colored gaze. He frowned darkly and shook his head.

"I can't believe that," he muttered. Then he stood and stepped around the table to rest his hand gently on top of her drying hair. "Don't you worry," he continued as she tilted her head back to look at him. "We'll take care of you."


End file.
